


Recurrence

by D0ll



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: F/M, Past life, Recurrence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 17:33:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3659070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D0ll/pseuds/D0ll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Balem Abrasax was dead.</p><p>Jupiter had seen his body lying mangled and broken beyond repair beneath the wreckage of the refinery. </p><p>So how was Balem standing before her right now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recurrence

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'ed by the wonderful kyuubi_wench thank you so much doll xo.

Balem Abrasax was dead.

Jupiter had seen his body lying mangled and broken beyond repair beneath the wreckage of the refinery.

One of the guards had checked for a pulse just to be sure, after all this was Balem Abrasax, a man who lived for countless centuries, could he really be extinguished this easily? Tense breathless minutes passed and there was still no signs of life. So Balem was pronounced dead at the scene many years ago.

So how was Balem standing before her right now?

Jupiter clutched the armrest of her throne for support, her knuckles turning white. For the first time in decades she felt threatened... No, that wasn't the word, Titus and Kalique made her feel that way every time they visited. Frightened, that was what she felt, she realized as her hands grew clammy the cold metal of the throne chilling her skin.  
This was the man that threatened her life, the lives of her family and the lives countless others on Earth.

Jupiter had thought of Balem as some kind of god, back when she was still the naive earth girl, with all of his power, wealth, other worldly beauty and larger than life personality; now as if to prove her right and a fool for ever believing she had beaten him, he returned back from the dead like some avenging deity.

He was the same but different. His body, his face those were all unchanged but his style was decidedly different. Instead of a lavish capes and gaudy gold collars Balem wore earth clothes. Black ripped jeans, studded belt and jewelry, a black T-shirt, piercings. His dark hair was worn in the same punk style; long, thick and vertical spikes. He looked harder than before more intimidating. 

Caine Wise, the head of her guard, turned to look at Jupiter waiting for her instruction but the Queen sat motionless and silent like she was frozen in her seat. So he decided to take the initiative, motioning for his men to apprehend Balem. They silently followed his orders, surprising both Jupiter and Balem when they rushed over to the man who had been standing as still as Jupiter, silently staring at the queen with fascination.

The noises broke Jupiter out of her spell; the jingle of the chains on his pants hitting the hard stone floor as he was tackled and for first time in hundreds of years she heard his voice. But it wasn't the voice she remembered in her nightmares, that hoarse whisper like a movie villain brought to life. Now his voice was strong and loud with a vague city accent.

"What the fuck?! What's going on?! Let me go!" Then it hit her, this is Balem’s recurrence, of course it was, Balem Abrasax would never be caught dead wearing jeans. She thought it funny that even a Balem born and raised on Earth would still have an unusual sense of fashion.

'Was this what Balem felt when he first saw me so many years ago?'Jupiter wondered, she could finally understand some of his reprehensible behavior toward her, seeing someone who died brought back again... It was confusing, strange and horrifying all at once.

Her ear pinged and a moment later Titus and Kalique appeared pixels taking shape of the beautiful siblings. They sat demurely at their desk hundreds of light years away. They had been in negotiations for the deeds to a planet Jupiter considered a barren wasteland for some time now. But she was more than happy to let them continue their petty games and endless squabbles over desolate planets as long as they kept their distance from her and Earth. Balem's recurrence was understandably the only one shocked at their sudden appearance, he jumped back and the guards had to pull him back up right. 

"Hello Jupiter," Her name rolled off the tip of Titus' tongue in the flirtatious way he always spoke, Jupiter wondered if he had any boundaries, would he flirt with the lizard creature she saw on planet Xerxex?

Kalique didn't bother with such pleasantries, "I found him in some place called New York," She informed her and Jupiter wondered if she was subtly implying she deserved an award for being the one who discovered Balem's recurrence, captured him and took him to her. "If you need I will send some guards to… take care of him." She remarked coldly as if he was merely a pesky business matter that had to swiftly swept under the rug. Titus nodded his head beside her and Jupiter’s first basic instinct was to agree with them. 

Jupiter shuddered when she thought it over and realized what exactly it was Kalique meant and what she was agreeing to with revulsion. Was she actually agreeing with the same two people that could so casually murder her and now the replica of their brother? What was wrong with her?! Had she spent so long in space that she forgot what it was like to be human? Had her morals faded along with the years? 

"No." She said her voice firmer than she felt. "And any assassination attempts from the two of you will be answered with swift justice. This boy poses no threat to either if you since he has no right to any of your deeds." Jupiter's voice was full of authority. She refused to show any sigh of weakness to them. The Abrasax siblings were quiet but their skeptical expressions told her everything they thought, that Balem was always a threat, recurrence or not. Kalique gave her an almost pitying look for not realizing that.

Jupiter knew they still thought of her as a weak, stupid human. They tried covering up their contempt with sickly sweet smiles and pristine manners. Jupiter’s mouth firmed a petulant scowl and she ended the call abruptly, their figures evaporated into a million digital, colorful dots before vanishing all at once.

"Jupiter?" Caine spoke up, his eyes pleaded with her to let him protect her from this threat, by killing it.

"He’s done nothing wrong. I am not Balem, I will not condone the death of an innocent. Now leave us. All of you," She demanded lifting her hand signaling everyone out, Caine was the only one who dared to look at her with uncertainty and in that moment she hated him for questioning her. She was a queen, and he was her guard, a wolf splice meant to obey her no matter what. ‘He is just trying to protect you’, Jupiter reminded herself but that doesn’t make her feel any better; she spent too long being a queen to need his approval like she used to.

"Come here." She beckoned him. Balem’s recurrence lifted his head up, clearly bewildered. Nothing that had happened had helped him figure out what was going on. But there was a certain calculation to him, she knew he had been listening acutely to every word and had paid attention to every movement of everyone around him. It reminded Jupiter so much of Balem it chilled her, and threw her off guard, until she reminded herself she was the one in power now, not him. She was the one with all the control. She was the queen. While this boy was just that, a mere boy with holes in his jeans and dirty sneakers.

He walked toward her, Balem hardly ever walked, he was too privileged for such menial tasks. He stood before the throne (Balem's old throne she wondered if somewhere in him he remembered) tall and straight, he looked more confident then he should for someone in his precarious position.

"My name is Jupiter Jones," she introduced herself after a moment of hesitation. At the sound of her voice the corners of his mouth lifted up, his lip ring glinted in the light, and then he was staring at her. And she hated everything about him; his stupid piercings, his mocking smile, the way he stared at her in that creepy, unsettling way. Jupiter wanted nothing more than to run away and never look at his terrible beauty again. But she refused to give in to those weakly instincts, to let him win, she was a queen and she will act like it.  
"What is your name?" Jupiter tried her best to sound polite, but she doesn't have the grace of Kalique or Titus who would smile kindly at their foe before discreetly slipping poison in their drinks, so her voice came off as strained and inelegant.

"Mars, Mars Marshall." He said his last name with a vague air of contempt, his first name was special and unusual but his last name was plain and ordinary. And the full name said together sounded stupid to him, like some simple-minded half-wit with a stutter named him. "My queen." Jupiter was shocked when he dropped to his knees before her, took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it and looked up at her behind green eyes enhanced by thick black eyeliner. 

Unlike her, and probably how any other semi-rational person would react, Mars doesn’t seem surprised to hear that he’s alien royalty. He accepted the startling news with ease, like he always known in the back of his mind that he was someone special, something more than mere mortal. Mars had never accepted Earth as his home. He had no friends, no family and no prospects to make his life better. He saw this as his fresh start, his chance to be what he was born to be and to finally feel like he was where he belonged.

Jupiter had a feeling that Mars’ life on Earth hadn’t been pleasant for him, from the intimidating way he dressed, meant to scare people away, to the way he didn’t even seem sad to leave home behind. Her life wasn’t easy on Earth either, she spent most of her time scrubbing toilets and struggling to make ends meet, but she still had a family who loved and protected her and she sensed Mars didn't.

They walked down the seemingly endless halls and even though Mars had never been there before these gilded halls felt more familiar to him than any of the orphanages or homes of his various foster parents. For the first time in his life he wasn't bored and apathetic, excitement swirled in his body, making it feel like he was walking on air as Jupiter showed him around the ship. But the dark haired woman on the other hand was weary and aloof. She kept a careful arm’s distance away from him at all times and was not offering him any conversation. Only giving him one word replies to all his questions.

Mars wondered what he could have done to earn her disdain. Everyone had looked at him back there like he was some kind of virus, but not like her, not with such personal dread. Usually Mars didn't mind if people didn't like him, he didn't like most people anyway, but something about Jupiter was different. She was beautiful and powerful, and he was drawn to her in a way he had never been drawn to another person before. It was meeting her was fated, like he always known her, like he was made for her. 

"This will be your room. I hope you find everything to your satisfaction." She said coldly coming to a stop, finally, to her relief. Instead of walking inside he paused at the door and looked at her. His eyes were as dark, deep and impenetrable as the galaxy. She nodded her head and tried to hurry away from him, but before she could he grabbed her arm.

Jupiter gasped, covering her face, expecting him to slap her; instead Balem- Mars, was looking at her with a troubled expression and dropped her hand. 

“I’m sorry,” he said casting his eyes down at the floor everything about him seemed to be genuinely apologetic even if he wasn’t sure what he’d done. “I just wanted to ask if I’ll get the chance to see you tomorrow and if you’ll answer some of my questions?” He seemed so hopeful and innocent in that moment Jupiter couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him. She still remembered how she felt when she was flung into this strange alien world. And unlike her Mars had no one to help him understand, so, very reluctantly, she agreed.


End file.
